Submitted Abstract

The lecture series aims to bring together the research and working communities at large in Luxembourg around a theme which researchers have traditionally associated with this country: income studies, widely interpreted. The Luxembourg Income Study, the cross-sectional database of micro-economic income data for social science research, is known world-wide and was founded in Luxembourg in 1983. The unifying thread of the lectures is Inequality, that is, differences in the distribution of some attributes, such as income and wealth, among the population. Each lecture then tackles the links between these differences and a central social henomenon. For this reporting year, 2016, the topics were INEQUALITY and Opportunities beyond High-School, and the supper Rich,and Child Poverty, and Housing Exclusion, and Inheritances, and Inflation, and Impact Investments, and the Great Gatsby Curve. The speakers are among the best-known experts worldwide. Each lecture is a source of inspiration for an audience with different levels of expertise, ranging from a BA in social sciences to expert researchers in the specific topic.Prof. D’Ambrosio is the promoter of this initiative and has contacted all potential local stakeholders, which are the co-organizers of the lectures. Her aim was to be as inclusive as possible in order to stimulate discussion, build a pan-Luxembourgish community and further research on the theme of the PEARL research programme of which she is a member. The topics as well as the speakers were jointly proposed by all of the organizers being part of the Scientific Committee.Prof. D’Ambrosio is the main contact with the speakers and among the organizers. The host institution for these lectures were the EIB Institute, LISER, STATEC and the University of Luxembourg .We plan to resubmit the same application for the future years. We believe that continuity of the initiative is a key factor in promoting research on inequality and building a stable research community amongst the different institutions in Luxembourg. After three years of organization we can confirm the success of this initiative and the big interest of the Luxembourgish target population with an average of more than 90 participants per lecture, many of which are regular participants attending all the events.